2020-12-29: News Headlines

Online News Editor (2020-12-29). China say EU investment deal close after 'major progress'. laprensalatina.com Beijing, Dec 29 (efe-epa).- A Chinese official on Tuesday said "major progress" had been made in the negotiations for the business investment deal with the European Union and expected an agreement to be announced at "an early date." European diplomats have signalled that the deal, in talks since 2014, could be finalized on Wednesday. Negotiators …

WSWS (2020-12-29). One year into the pandemic, 65,000 deaths in the US in one month. wsws.org One year after the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in China, December was the deadliest month of the pandemic both in the United States and the world.

Ralph Nader (2020-12-29). Recidivist Criminal and Constitutional Outlaw Trump Rushes to Pardon Criminal Lawbreakers. counterpunch.org Serial lawbreaker Donald J. Trump is embarking on the most sordid presidential pardon spree in American history. He has already pardoned convicted crooks, thieves, and violent outlaws. Trump's pardon lawyers are frantically assembling more MAGA besotted individuals and groups to be pardoned wholesale. The number may climb into the hundreds. The queue is long. Trump

Ben Carroll (2020-12-29). After massive cyberattack, imperialist U.S. blames Russia — and China. workers.org U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts are calling it perhaps the most extensive and costly "cyberattack" in modern history. Revelations have come to light that in mid-December numerous U.S. government agencies and some of the world's largest corporations discovered they had been hacked over the course of several preceding months. U.S. . . . |

Uriel Araujo (2020-12-29). Tensions Between China and India May Soon Rise as Trump Approves Historic Tibet Act. asia-pacificresearch.com

Mehr News Agency (2020-12-29). 1st solo exhibition of Iran handwoven carpets opened in China. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Dec. 29 (MNA) — First solo exhibition of Iran handwoven carpets and handicrafts was inaugurated in historical-cultural city of Nanjing, capital of China's Jiangsu province on Tue. in presence of Consul General of Iran in Shanghai.

Danny Haiphong (2020-12-29). US fearmongering on China not rooted in facts, but racism. zcomm.org Bipartisan mistrust of the world's emerging economic superpower rooted largely in bigoted tropes and stereotypes…

RT (2020-12-28). Chinese expats coming home to get domestic Covid vaccine — media. rt.com Chinese expats are returning to their country of birth to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and are even bragging about it on the internet, according to Chinese state media. | China's Global Times "The journey costs a lot of money and time but many believe it's worth it," the Global Times reported, adding that their decis…

sputniknews (2020-12-28). One Year After First COVID-19 Report, Wuhan Doctor Who Filed Discovery Rejects 'Cover-Up' Narrative. sputniknews.com While the US government and mainstream media have attempted to rewrite the history of the opening stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to pin the blame for the outbreak on China, one of the central figures of that period has reaffirmed the speed and accuracy of the medical response in Wuhan.

Richard Gale (2020-12-28). A More Honest Perspective of the COVID-19 Pandemic. globalresearch.ca Since the first cases of the new coronavirus strain outside of China, every aspect of the pandemic's ever-changing amoebic narrative has been carefully controlled by the World Health Organization and major government health agencies. | High officials within a syndicate of …

Vijay Prashad (2020-12-28). China — A Marxist Analysis. mronline.org Vijay on China: A Marxist Analysis…

Dean Baker (2020-12-28). China Has the World's Largest Economy, Get Over It. counterpunch.org It is more than a bit annoying to hear reporters endlessly refer to China as the world's second largest economy. It isn't. It's the world's largest economy and has been since 2017. Here are the data from the International Monetary Fund. As the chart shows, China's economy first passed the U.S. in 2017. It is

John Kendall Hawkins (2020-12-28). Doomsday ex Machina: Daniel Ellsberg and the Nuclear Gang. counterpunch.org You hide in your mansion While the young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world — Bob Dylan, "Masters of War" (1963) October 15, 1969. That's the day the world might have

Andrew Korybko (2020-12-28). Political Instability in the Central African Republic, The Role of China-Russia Cooperation. globalresearch.ca The Chinese-Russian strategic partnership could be leveraged to stabilize the CAR after this Sunday's elections and might eventually become a model for them to apply towards their other African partners too. | The Central African Republic (CAR) has once again attracted …

teleSUR (2020-12-28). China: Alibaba Under Further Scrutiny as Regulations Tighten. telesurenglish.net Chinese authorities ordered on Monday that the financial technology company Ant Group scale back its operations as part of an investigation into e-commerce giant Alibaba group. The move comes amidst a wider strategy to regulate Internet companies in the country. | RELATED: | During an interview, the deputy governor of China's central bank Pan Gongsheng said that "the company's governance mechanism is not sound; the legal awarene…

Bertil Lintner (2020-12-28). China Building Great Wall on Its Soft Southern Underbelly. asia-pacificresearch.com

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-12-27). Europe's Lack of Confidence Hampers Signing of Trade Agreement with China. globalresearch.ca After seven years of tough negotiations, the European Union and China were close to signing an investment agreement. However, at the last moment, it hit a road block as it faced pressure from those wanting Washington's involvement, or those wanting …

Alena Peryshkina (2020-12-27). Multicultural Cooperation between BRICS Member States: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. globalresearch.ca In this interview, Alena Peryshkina, Co-Chair of the BRICS Civil Forum, Director of the AIDS Infoshare Foundation, Co-Chair of the BRICS and G20 CSOs Working Group, discusses some aspects of multicultural dimensions, especially the need to institutionalize cultural ties and …

Aaron Maté (2020-12-26). Veteran diplomat: US confronts China to protect supremacy, not security. thegrayzone.com Veteran US diplomat Chas Freeman says that despite talk of a New Cold War between the US and China, the US in reality is reacting aggressively to a rising Chinese power whose economic gains threaten US global supremacy. "We've become accustomed over the past 75 years to be the overlord in East Asia," Freeman says. Chas Freeman, who served in top State Department positions and as Richard Nixon's chief interpreter on his historic 1972 visit to China, discusses the state …